Gaethje is upset by the title skip, says Jon Anik
In a recent episode of “The Anik & Florian Podcast,” the UFC claimed Play by Ace ace John Annik was not in a comfortable mood after failing to secure his next lightweight title fight (H/T MMAFighting).
“He got mad,” Annick said on the Annick & Florian podcast. “He certainly feels he was handed over to Charles Oliveira for this opportunity against Ilia Toprea. What Justin Gettege and his manager Ali Abderaziz are looking for is May 19th and the good news of this fight with Toprea Oliveira is that he doesn’t imagine it’s not six weeks. What he did against Rafael Fiziev, staying on the fight card and not fighting Dan Hooker, but winning the distance from the UFC 300 results – and he was able to fight in the UFC in the UFC 300 and at that point he was able to fight for a championship that was not contested at that time, so Gaethje wouldn’t be surprised.
“But you can say Justin wasn’t excited.”
Gaethje finally competed in March, citing a unanimous decision victory over Rafael Fizeiev in a rematch. Like their first encounter in 2023, Gaethje and Fizeiv’s second meeting won the “night of battle” honor. This victory made Gaethje 3-1 on his final four outings.
Before 2025 approaches, we know if Gaethje is still planning on another title shot.
